This is a three-week advanced course for public service lawyers in the region to examine the emerging global phenomenon of public service lawyering and the forms it has taken in Central and Eastern Europe. The course is organized around two substantive themes: social and economic rights, and ethnicity, citizenship and political exclusion; embedded in each conversation are certain core topics, including globalization, the role of the state, and strategies used by public interest lawyers. The curriculum aims to ensure that lawyers learn from each other, trade practical lawyering strategies, and reflect critically at the underlying assumptions and ideologies behind their work. The core of the course consists of case studies written by and based on the students’ own experiences. The case studies are prepared and presented by a team of three (teacher, student-author, student discussion leader). Each case study is analyzed by the group via an interactive discussion focused on the key lawyering and strategy questions raised by the case. Field visits, hypotheticals and advanced readings will also be part of this open, interactive learning process. The readings outside of the case studies will address multiple foreign legal systems, both from Central and Eastern Europe and from outside the region.

Course specific requirement

Applicants should be lawyers with at least two years of work experience in a public service law setting – government, non-governmental organizations, academia (including advanced doctoral students).